


an apprentice of adventure

by riceballs



Series: a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away... [2]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Alternate Universe - Space, Alternate Universe - Star Wars Setting, Gen, Minor Violence, minor language, space bandits
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-14 05:55:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29413734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/riceballs/pseuds/riceballs
Summary: When Shotaro first left for the Jedi Academy, he was just a small Mirialan boy with big dreams. Nowadays, he's trying to remember how much of those dreams included bar shootouts, stolen jewelry, and a slightly insane bounty hunter named Yuta Nakamoto.(Deep down though? He knows he wouldn't have it any other way.)
Relationships: Jung Sungchan & Osaki Shotaro
Series: a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away... [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2159199
Kudos: 22





	an apprentice of adventure

Shotaro slides into an empty booth just as his holoprojector crackles to life, a staticky yet smiling Sungchan appearing in view. It’s not ideal, taking the call in the middle of the rowdy Resonance bar, but this is the first time in weeks that Sungchan’s managed to find a strong enough signal down on Earth, and they know better than to wait for another time to talk. 

Still using that ancient holoprojector of yours, huh?” is the first thing out of Sungchan’s mouth. It’s funny coming from Sungchan, who literally lives on a planet full of old junk, but Shotaro’s never been good at retorts, merely giggling at the usual greeting. 

“It’s nice to hear from you too,” he replies instead, his smiling growing wider as Sungchan becomes clearer on his projector. “How’ve you been? How’s Earth?” 

“The same old barren wasteland that it’s been since our last chat.” A loud crash sounds from behind Shotaro, most likely some drunk trader causing trouble. “You in the middle of a job right now? Am I interrupting?” 

“No, you’re not. Yuta’s meeting with the dealer now, something about a paranoid guy trying to pawn his ex-wife’s jewelry for money. Said it's an easy job, so he just told me to wait outside and get rid of any trouble.” It’s funny coming from Yuta — considering that there’s an urban myth of single-handedly fighting off a trading post to his name — but Shotaro’s been working for Yuta for quite a while now to know that trouble tends to land itself straight into Yuta’s lap at the most unexpected of times. Shotaro figures it comes with the territory of allegedly being the best bounty hunter in the galaxy.

Sungchan lets out a scoff. “Still can’t believe you decided for your Jedi apprenticeship, you chose a _bounty hunter_ to follow, of all people. Like, why didn’t you decide to follow a politician, or a CEO, or some boring person who’s only possible threat of endangerment is when their partner asks why they’ve been staying in the office late.” 

“But where’s the fun in that?” Shotaro’s eyes crinkle. In the background, Shotaro can faintly see Jungwoo passing by. “How’s Jungwoo doing? You guys are traveling the Korean peninsula right now, right?” 

“Yeah, and you won’t _believe_ some of the stuff we found it’s crazy what people on Earth got up to back then–” Sungchan’s eyes light up as he starts telling Shotaro about his new job, and Shotaro finds himself distracted for a moment by that. It’s easy to see that Sungchan’s finally found his calling now, working for a scavenger group with his brother in one of the most deserted places in their galaxy. Some might call it a downgrade from the Jedi Academy, but Shotaro knows better, knows that the three years he’s spent observing all of Sungchan’s expressions can’t compare to the one he sees on the other’s face now. 

Force-awareness may only be granted to a selected few, but even that’s not a guarantee that the Jedi life is for them, and Shotaro knows the moment that Sungchan walked out of the Academy, he’s never looked back. 

But Shotaro’s only dreamed of becoming a full ranked Jedi since the moment he stepped in, and he supposes that’s why he chose one of the most chaotic subjects to shadow — Yuta, bounty hunter extraordinaire. Yuta promised adventure in his writeup, an adventure that Shotaro was more than happy to follow. 

Sungchan’s still rambling, and Shotaro is already lost in their conversation, so he finds his eyes wandering for a moment., catching on to the other patrons at the bar. He blinks. 

“Yo, Sungchan, hold a second,” he twists away from the holoprojector, nearly stepping from his booth. “Hey…” he calls out to the patron nearest to him. The human turns, and Shotaro feels his grin widen. 

“Shotaro!” It’s Xiaojun, who jumps from his barstool and pulls Shotaro into a hug. He spots the holoprojector, and waves excitedly, as the two slide back into the booth. “Sungchan! How are you? How’s Jungwoo? Ten keeps threatening to send me down on Earth and steal Jungwoo back.” 

“Oh please do, I’m tired of him.” Shotaro and Xiaojun can hear a faint _hey!_ sound in the background and Sungchan turns and sticks his tongue out in the direction. “We’re actually prepping for this island expedition. Going old school and using boats to travel around, meaning I’m really going to be stuck with Jungwoo’s annoying ass with no way to escape.” His face brightens up. “Hey, actually, we’re recruiting people nowadays to join us, so if you’re even tired of flying around all the time and want to try a new form of transportation just let me know!”

“That’s pretty enticing, might save me from taking on these potentially dangerous jobs Ten and Kun have us going on,” Xiaojun laughs, but Shotaro knows better. Xiaojun’s happier than when it was just him and Hendery, trying their best to make ends meet on Naboo. Just like how Shotaro’s found his home at the Jedi Academy, Xiaojun and Hendery have found theirs on the VISION. 

_Speaking of Hendery…_ “Where are the others anyway?” He looks around at the bar, scanning for the rest of their crew. “You here alone?” 

Xiaojun shakes his head no, ignoring the jab. “I’m here with Yangyang and Hendery on a job actually. They’re meeting with the dealer right now. It’s some sort of jewelry retrieval? Belongs to this rich woman on Vardos who got it stolen by her ex-husband or something.”

The story sounds familiar, but before Shotaro can make a comment, Hendery and Yangyang burst through the door. 

“Yo Xiaojun, we got the goods lets get the fuck out of here–” Yangyang pauses, his eyes zeroing in on the two of them in the booth, landing specifically on Shotaro. 

Shotaro’s only had three encounters with Yangyang before. The first was a coincidence, being at the same hospital on Mirial. Yangyang was brought back to the hospital a month after his birth due to a complication, and his operation room was across from the one where Shotaro took his first breath in the galaxy from. In the second incident, he and Sungchan were attending a comedy show on Cantonica, and happened to have been there to witness Kun about to run Yangyang over with his ship. The third was the first time they actually spoke — or rather, the first time he heard Yangyang screaming from the top of his lungs as Yuta’s shooting at the trio for stealing their job, while Shotaro’s trying to calm everyone down and simultaneously keep a bloodbath from occurring.

(That was the first job Shotaro worked with Yuta on, and perhaps should have been his first sign of exactly what he had gotten himself into.) 

Thing is, those three moments shouldn’t be enough for Shotaro to even call Yangyang an acquaintance. And yet, there’s some form of a connection between them. Whether it’s because of their Mirialan background, or something more force related (Shotaro and Sungchan both agree that Yangyang is force-sensitive, but whether Yangyang actually knows is another story), Shotaro can sense Yangyang’s inner thoughts enough to know that Yangyang’s on the defensive now. Suddenly, the job that Yuta told him about on the way to Corellia comes back to mind, and _oh._

“What’s he doing here?” Yangyang asks cautiously. The same ominous feeling comes back, and Shotaro suddenly is aware that the booth Yuta was talking to his contact at is empty. 

Xiaojun and Hendery turn to Shotaro. Xiaojun’s face turns just as wary, and Shotaro is reminded that the last time he saw the two was the same time he saw Yangyang for the third time. 

“You… you’re still working for Yuta… right?” Xiaojun timidly adds. Sungchan — still open on the holoprojector — scoffs. 

“Oh boy, this is going to be good.” 

As if on cue, Yuta bursts through the same door that Hendery and Yangyang had just exited, eyes wild with insanity. The dealer he was with is at his heels, a finger pointing straight at the trio, who remains frozen in the middle of the bar.

In two seconds flat, guns are drawn, not only from Yuta and the VISION crew, but other patrons all around. Even the bartender — an older Nautolan who Shotaro’s pretty sure doesn’t actually know how to make drinks — has a shotgun out. 

“Well well well, we meet again.” It’s so cringy, and Shotaro feels himself internally groaning. Yuta merely smirks. “Hand over the package, and no one gets hurt.” 

Shotaro and Sungchan both watch as the three VISION crewmembers exchange a three-way look. 

“I mean… who’s scarier? Yuta right now, or Ten if we return empty-handed?” Xiaojun finally says. The three exchange another look. 

“Ten.” They say in chorus. The next second, chaos erupts. 

Shotaro ducks just as a shot flies in his direction. He’s reaching for his lightsaber, but decides against using it at the last second, grabbing his own plasma gun instead. Later on, he’ll hear never-ending complaints from Yuta about how _he hired a Jedi who won’t even use his lightsaber to defend me!—_ but his trainers at the academy had always pegged Shotaro for the benevolent type, and he really can’t use the deadliest weapon in the galaxy on _friends_ , now can he? 

He aims his gun at the dealer, who’s sporting the largest firearm Shotaro’s ever seen. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees the trio racing out, a large crowd at their heels. Shotaro’s not sure what the three did to warrant their anger, but maybe it’s just a mixture of testosterone and alcohol that’s leading to this impromptu bar fight. Regardless, he smiles knowing that his friends are safe, and continues shooting at the dealer, ducking again as another stray bullet goes flying through the air. 

“Seems like I chose the wrong profession, huh?” Shotaro hears Sungchan laugh and rolls his eyes. He waves a quick goodbye, turns the holoprojector off, and pockets it. Despite being older than he is, it was the first thing Shotaro bought for himself since leaving home and traveling the galaxy, so there’s enough sentimental value behind it that he’d rather not lose it in a gunfight, thank you very much!

Yuta’s shouting for Shotaro to look out for the bartender, who Shotaro's also pretty sure does not know how to operate the weapon in his hand, which explains the bullets ricocheting all over. This time, he pulls out his lightsaber, jumping straight into the line of danger as he aims to cut off the weapon mid-attack. 

_This really is my life now, huh._ He thinks to himself as his saber slices the gun clean in the middle, rendering it useless. It doesn’t stop another three guys from coming straight for him, and now Shotaro’s on the defensive, blocking bullets while trying to make his way towards the back door where his and Yuta’s podracers are. Out of the corner of his eye through the front window, he can see Lucas jumping into the VISION ship, before it makes a bumpy ascent and hyperjumps out of sight. 

Maybe it’s just something in their blood. Something in Yuta’s blood, choosing to become a bounty hunter for pay, one of the most dangerous careers out there. Something in the VISION crew, and their resolve to speed throughout the galaxy, jumping from job to job in search of their next great adventure. Something in Sungchan’s blood to willingly spend his career down on Earth, which is literally just a junkyard of barely salvageable scraps for sale. 

Something in Shotaro’s blood, soul, and his whole self, that makes him crave adventure. It’s what propelled him to the Jedi Academy in the first place, and then to follow the #1 bounty hunter in their galaxy across worlds. Maybe they’re all just a special breed of persons, risking their lives for the thrill of living in a multi-world galaxy of their own. 

When he first left for the Jedi Academy, he was just a small Mirialan boy with big dreams. Two years later, the dreams are still there, only now, those dreams have turned into reality, adventures around the galaxy that await him. 

So, whatever it may have been that drove Shotaro to currently be fighting his way out of a bar on Corellia, Shotaro knows he wouldn’t have it any other way.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> i really was not planning to add more to this series but sungchan and shotaro's relay cams were cute and I wanted to write some cute sungtaro friendship stuff which sort of spiraled into this 
> 
> once again don't think too much into any star wars references I spent like five minutes on wookiepedia. earth doesn't even exist in star wars l o l
> 
> check out some extra fun facts about star wars!au [here](https://twitter.com/8dumplings/status/1357859296499875840)! (Secret hint, there's an easter egg in this fic that sort of relates to one of the facts hehe)
> 
> twitter: [8dumplings](https://www.twitter.com/8dumplings)


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